This chapter provides an overview on the use and implementation of a risk analysis framework for microbial food safety issues, as well as approaches to decision making, using risk assessment in regulatory decision making and identifying and selecting risk management options.

This article illustrates the application of information systems to the field of food safety risk management. This paper explains that information systems are concerned with data capture, storage, analysis and retrieval. In the context of food safety management they are vital to assist decision making in a short time frame, potentially allowing decisions to be made and practices to be actioned in real time. 

This article provides several examples on the application of information systems using databases to: 

• Identify pathogens in food at the genus or species level using applied systematics in automated ways.
• Design predictive modelling software (e.g., Pathogen Modeling Program) using the response of microbial populations to the environment, characteristics of foods and processing conditions.
• Use computer software packages to aid the practical application of HACCP and risk assessment and decision trees to bring logical sequences to establishing and modifying food safety management practices.

This special issue provides a brief introduction on food safety risk assessments from an international perspective and highlights some of the research around the world as part of this global move toward risk-based food safety policy. 

The final papers in this special issue provide examples of how risk assessment is being applied to inform specific food-safety policy decisions and of how far microbial risk assessment has come in the past decade and a half. 

This Guidance was developed to assess the possible modification of available systematic review methods for the systematic evaluation of food and feed safety research, and to evaluate the potential use of SR methodology when doing risk assessments (RA) to support decision making in food and feed safety.

In this article, the authors present a multi-criteria decision analysis approach that can be used to address the problem of trying to select a food safety intervention while balancing various criteria

In this study, two approaches (disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and cost of illness (COI)) were used to generate estimates of the burden of disease for certain potentially foodborne diseases (campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, listeriosis (invasive, perinatal, and nonperinatal), infection with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), yersiniosis, and norovirus infection) and their sequelae in New Zealand.

In this article, the authors develop a prioritization framework for foodborne risks that considers public health impact as well as three other factors (market impact, consumer risk acceptance and perception, and social sensitivity). Canadian case studies are presented for six pathogen-food combinations: Campylobacter spp. in chicken; Salmonella spp. in chicken and spinach; Escherichia coli O157 in spinach and beef; and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meats. Public health impact is measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and the cost of illness. Market impact is quantified by the economic importance of the domestic market.The framework provides a flexible instrument to support policymakers in complex risk prioritization decision making when different stakeholder groups are involved and when multiple pathogen-food combinations are compared.

This report describes an integrated scientific approach to supporting food safety decisions by utilizing veterinary and medical epidemiology, risk assessment for the farm-to-fork food chain, and agricultural and health economics. Included are discussions on the policy cycle, the food safety problem in general, prioritizing health impacts, and policy implementation. Also included are risk assessment models and data and a discussion on economics.

In response to the need an integrated framework for pathogen risk ranking to support priority decisions on food safety, the European Union's MED-VET-NET and the U.S.-based Food Safety Research Consortium (FSRC) organized an international conference held in Berlin, Germany, on July 19 - 21, 2006. The following report summarizes some of the results of the conference, including general principles, data needs, methodological issues and challenges, and future research needs pertaining to an integrated framework for setting priorities for foodborne and zoonotic pathogens.

Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in he Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.

This presentation discusses common misperceptions of cost/benefit analysis for public and private decision making. It was presented at the 2007 IRAC-sponsored Public Conference 'Risk Assessment, Economic Analysis, and Foodborne Illness Regulations'. All the agenda and presentation information can be found from this link.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Water Network (CWN), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) funded a project to determine the needs, gaps and opportunities for microbial risk assessment (MRA) in food and water. The results of that project are presented in this report, identifying and recommending directions for the advancement of MRA from its current status as a recognized tool for decision-making but not yet exploited to its full potential, to a tool that is an integral part of the research and risk reduction strategies employed by decision makers. For information on data gaps in specific microbial risk assessments, see Risk Assessment Consortium, Data Gaps Working Group. 2004. Data gaps for selected microbial risk assessments available here

Nonprofit research organization that studies decision-making, including such aspects as risk perception, judgements, values, and information processing and their effects on decisions. The website includes information about their projects, lists of publications, papers and reports, and more

This presentation was given at the 1st International Conference on Microbiological Risk Assessment: Foodborne Hazards, held in Adelphi, MD on July 24-26, 2002. It presents the principles of risk assessment from several sources (Codex, OIE, Society for Risk Analysis), discusses current modelling practices and problems associated with current risk analysis practices, and presents a case for focusing on decisions when performing risk analysis. The pdf version of this presentation is available here